From Shadows
by Brother Brain
Summary: The Monsters are gigantic superpredators with the intelligence of humans and the raw power to decimate armies. For those who encounter them without the benefit of preparation, they can only hope they die quickly. A quick one-shot about the colonists who first encountered the Monsters on Shear.


"Darkness is the greatest fear of mankind. What is in the light can be seen and destroyed, but what hides in the shadows is formless and immortal."

-Anonymous

"Ahhh!" A group of people yelled. Several threw their hands into the air as the ball bounced off the edge of the table beside the pocket. The man who had taken the shot, Andrew Prescott, grinned ruefully and rubbed a hand through his curly hair as the other engineers threw pretzels form the snack bowl at him.

The group was in the rec room of the residence building Nordita had thoughtfully placed near the power plant they worked on. Though some of the workers were in their bunks, the majority were here. The group was a mix of the engineers that maintained and operated the plant and the Ebonstar guards who protected the facility. Over a dozen were clustered around the pool table, while others played cards in the corner or lounged on the couch in front of the viewscreen, which was currently displaying _Griffen Hallsey X: Titans of Muddrad_.

"Poor show!" One of them said mockingly in a false Hub accent.

"That was, indeed, the worst shot I've ever seen." Another affirmed.

"Ah, come on," Andrew said, "It wasn't that bad. Emma, back me up."

The woman stood next to him, preparing her own pool cue. "I'm sorry, I have to go with them on this." She said in a solemn tone. "A decade from now, I will sit my children down and tell them all about how Prescott made the single worst shot in human history."

She moved around the table and lined up her shot. She moved the cue in a few mock practice strokes, then made her move. As the cue impacted the ball, the lights flickered and died. Cries of confusion and disappointment called through the room as the balls clacked together in the darkness. A moment later, the lights flickered back on as the backup generator kicked on.

The people in the room had risen from their seats, looking around in confusion. The viewscreen had broken down into static intermixed with a 'no signal' message.

"What happened?" One of the guards asked.

"You tell us," An engineer shot back, "You're the ones who're supposed to protect us from attacks."

"This wasn't an attack." Captain Wayne, leader of the Ebonstar division, said as he walked over to the emergency locker on the wall. He unlocked it and pulled it open, revealing several sets of Ebonstar armor and a few small arms.

"How do you know?"

The soldier began to strip off his clothing and dress in the armor. "If it was a blunt force attack, the night shift would have called in. If it was an EMP, the backup generator wouldn't have activated."

"So why are you putting on armor?"

He pulled out a sub machine gun and inserted a magazine. "Just in case. What probably happened is something cut off power to the hab units."

By now the initial fear had worn off, leaving only a faint sense of annoyance at the inconvenience. Emma slapped Andrew on the shoulder. "How about you walk over there and yell at them for screwing up?"

He sighed and shook his head, but walked towards the doors. "I'll be sure to give them your regards." He strapped on his pistol and stepped out into the night air. As he walked away towards the vehicle pool, he was surprised when the door creaked open behind him and the captain walked after him.

"Why are you coming?" he asked, mildly confused.

"Let the engineers I'm supposed to guard walk off into the night, alone, in the middle of a power outage." Wayne said flatly. "I'd like to keep my job, thank you very much."

Andrew cracked a smile and walked past the outer perimeter of residence buildings to the area they kept the vehicles. He ignored the ATVs and two person crawlers and walked over to a jeep. He opened the door and hopped into the driver seat. The captain got into the passenger seat as he started the vehicle, the headlights turning on as the engine rumbled to life.

"So what're we doing?" the soldier asked.

"Probably nothing." Andrew responded. He pulled out of the parking lot and onto the dirt road leading to the reactor building. A chainlink fence separated the road from the treeline on either side, outturned projections of barbed wire preventing smaller animals from climbing over. "The night shift should be able to handle whatever the issue is. I'm just going over to check up on them."

Wayne chuckled. "So you're just going over to chew them out for letting the issue happen in the first place."

"Basically."

The two fell into silence as they drove. Andrew found his mind wandering to what he would do if they actually couldn't figure it out on their own. Check the relay first, make sure it wasn't a regulation issue. Then check the reactor itself to see if it was developing a major fault.

He tried to dismiss those thoughts. They were still professionals, they didn't need him hanging around. The jeep reached the end of the road, emerging into the deforested area that surrounded the reactor building. Twin exhaust towers rose from the building, columns of steam from the coolant rising into the air.

He drove around the building to a smaller portions ticking off to the side. This was the portion that housed the power relay, which regulated and controlled the power flow to the various facilities that depended on this power plant. He pulled to a stop in front of the large doors and turned off the engine.

He pocketed the keys and got out, waving off Wayne as he moved to follow him. "I can handle this, just wait with the car."

Andrew walked towards the large door leading to the relay room. The lights around it remained on, but it was impossible to tell from out here whether they were powered by the backup generator or the main reactor. That didn't exactly make it easier to tell if the issue was with the reactor or the relay.

He walked over to the side of the door and swiped his ID card in the machine. A light pinged green and the doors began to slide open. He walked to the widening gap and stepped through as soon at it became large enough for him to get through.

"Ok," he called as he walked down the short corridor to the relay room and turned the corner, "Who wants to explain to me why…"

His voice trailed off and died as he took in the room. The crates that held the backup parts were shattered, strewing broken wood and crushed metal across the floor. Small fires burned in the debris and chunks of the wall had been torn open, venting steam into the room. He didn't see any of the crew, but he did see some suspicious wet patches on the floor. And then there was the relay. The socket that usually held it was bent and twisted, deep furrows gouged in the metal casing. The circular plate that usually covered it lay on the floor before it, ripped nearly in half. Severed cables and wired dangled from the opening like a gutted animal, while the central control cylinder was nowhere to be seen.

He was frozen in fear. What could have done this? There was no way this was done with equipment, but they had sealed the building against any wildlife. He managed to jolt himself into action, crossing the room to check the other door.

Where the first had been sealed shut, this one gaped open. Sparks shot out of the mechanisms that moved the door, and one had been forced off the rails that held it. About halfway up, the metal was bent into a crater along the inside edge.

The engineer stepped back slowly. "Wayne!" he yelled, his voice cracking in fear, "We have a problem!"

A loud crash echoed in reply. He jumped at the sudden sound, spinning towards the way he'd come in. The noise had come from there. Steeling himself, he unhosltered his pistol and crossed the room.

He emerged from the building to see the jeep had been tossed to the side like a toy. It was slammed against the wall to the building, a massive crated deforming its frame. The concrete around it was cracked with the force of the impact. Of Wayne, there was no sign.

"Wayne?" he called, not really expecting an answer.

His reply came in the form of a howling roar from the treeline. He nearly jumped out of his skin at the noise. He raised his pistol and pointed it at the treeline as something large began to move just out of sight. Tree branches snapped as it passed and smaller plants were crushed beneath it. As it neared the fence that sealed off the road, it howled and burst into motion. Not toward Andrew, but in the other direction.

Trees cracked and toppled as its thundering footsteps rapidly moved towards the residence area. He stared frozen after it before a thought jolted him into action. He had to warn them.

He ran towards the ruined jeep and climbed into the driver's seat over the detatched door. He grabbed the radio transmitter off the dash board and tried to turn it on, desperately hoping someone had reactivated the communications. Nothing but static.

He swore and tossed it at the dash board before jumping back out. He ran around to the trunk and pried it open, the lock shattered by the damage. Inside, two of the emergency jetpacks were crushed and unusable, but a third remained intact. He pulled it out, noting a long crack across the casing, before dismissing it as minor. He shrugged the pack onto his back, cinching the straps as it synched with the control chip at the base of his skull.

Once it was properly activated, he turned and ran towards the road. He activated the thrusters as he did so, launching himself forward several meters. He repeated the process as soon as he landed, keeping an eye on the charge gauge for the pack. The method didn't give him much lift, but it let him move in rapid bounds across the ground.

As he moved along the road, he saw evidence of the things passage. Trees had fallen onto the fence protecting the road, caving it in and blocking the road. He vaulted over them and continued forward. When he was only a quarter of the distance away he passed a massive section of the fence that had been ripped free and crushed into the ground. Massive footprints trailed out of the gap and along the road towards the residence buildings. A faint roar reached his ears, followed by the distinctive crack of gunfire. He cursed and tried to go faster.

After what seemed like an eternity, he reached his destination. He fired the thrusters in the opposite direction to slow himself as his feet skidded in the dirt. His gun arm fell limp to his side. He was too late. The rec hall was burning, the side torn to pieces. The other buildings were in similar shape, either on fire, smashed apart or both. Faint screams reached his ears, but as he listened they faded and stopped. He stood motionless, transfixed by the destruction. He tried to console himself with the thought that there was nothing he could have done, but it didn't help.

He cautiously took a step backwards as fear began to override shock. Whatever had done this had done it only minutes ago. He took another step back, before turning around and bolting. He made it a few steps before he skidded to a stop again. A massive dark shape sat on the road, the flickering light of the fire and the shadows of the forest hiding its appearance. It was at least the size of an armadon, with two pinpricks of glowing red light denoting its eyes. Jagged spikes protruded from its back, making it seem even larger.

The two sat motionless for a moment. He could hear its deep breathing over the crackle of the fire behind him. Then it moved. It wasn't much, just a forelimb raising towards him, but it was enough to prompt terrified action. Andrew raised the pistol and fired at the creature, emptying the entire ten shot clip into it.

It froze as the bullets struck home. Andrew allowed himself a brief moment of triumph, thinking that perhaps he had frightened it. He hadn't. It remained motionless as the gunfire stopped, waiting to see if he would produce a weapon of greater damage. When he didn't, it growled quietly and moved again.

Andrew watched as it reared up and rose onto its hind legs. A tail swept out behind it for balance as it glared down at Andrew. He looked up into its eyes, which were now higher than the tops of the buildings. He took in the smell of fire and recalled the screams of those who had already fallen to this beast. In that instant, he made a decision.

As the creature lunged for him, he pressed the pistol into his temple and pulled the trigger.

"It is therefore not the darkness itself that is feared, but the infinite possibilities of horror it contains. For every monster that emerges from the shadows, there are a hundred more merely awaiting their time to strike."

-Anonymous

* * *

AN: Hey look, an Evolve thing! It's been a while since I've done one of these. If you're still waiting on Evolution, I'm still planning on updating it. I have some parts written out, I'm just awaiting certain developments with the game to finalize before I do anything major. In the meantime, here's filler.

This was basically made as a mini-horror scene about the poor sods who first encountered the monsters. Not sure how well it turned out, but not everything can be great. A lot of it's just OK. I initially had this as a more prolonged affair where they found the egg and studied it for a while before it hatched and began the horror scene. But then I considered the time between 'Oh look, an egg' and 'My organs! My armor does nothing!' in game and I decided that didn't fit. Also because Ebonstar didn't have much info on the monsters, and that didn't really fit.

For those wondering, I made up that quote. If you want to attribute it to me, PM me and I can tell you the proper info. But this is the internet, it'll probably be on five different websites attributed to twenty seven different people within a day. If you do that, I recommend H.P. Lovecraft. It seems like something he would say.


End file.
